When your arms are your paycheck, trying to master "Bark at the Moon" before a …

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I have nightmares about arthritis, or a bloody hand injury, or anything at all happening to my hands. It's hard to review and write about games when you can't play them. I would probably feel a little weird putting my hands in jeopardy by playing baseball at the pro level. Of course, I would also think those who play baseball at the professional level would also take care of their hands and arms and stay away from games like Guitar Hero. If they did, we wouldn't have a reason for this post, would we?

Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers had some forearm pain, and of course that kind of thing can affect your playing. Especially in the American League Championship Series. It turned out that his pain wasn't coming from his pitching, though:

Zumaya, 22, was known to play "Guitar Hero," a PlayStation 2 game in which a player uses a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the performance of popular songs.

During the radio interview, Dombrowski said the Tigers' athletic training staff discovered that Zumaya's forearm pain was more consistent with the action of a guitar player than a baseball pitcher. The Tigers asked Zumaya to stop playing the video game, and he did. Zumaya then pitched pain-free during the World Series, and went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three appearances.

My friends and I have played some intense multi-hour sessions of Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2, and you can really do some work on your arms if you overdo it. I can't imagine pitching after an all-night rock out. I'm glad to know everything turned out okay for our games-loving athlete, but giving up Guitar Hero? It's a high cost for the big money and national acclaim of being a baseball player.